Bitcoin hits a record high near $3,500 ahead of a big change in its software

Bitcoin's
foray into record territory continued Tuesday as the
cryptocurrency reached nearly $3,500 a coin. Early buying
propelled bitcoin to a high of $3,486 before sellers managed to
push it back down to the unchanged line near $3,390.

The gain came ahead of a big change in bitcoin's network.

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On Tuesday, bitcoin's blockchain network will begin adopting new
software called Segregated Witness, or SegWit.

"SegWit is a clever solution that essentially increases
transaction capacity," according to Aaron Lasher, the chief
marketing officer of Breadwallet, a bitcoin technology company.

The software was devised years ago as a solution to the
cryptocurrency's scaling problem, which divided bitcoin power
brokers for years and led to
a split on August 1.

Investors were virtually unfazed by the split, which resulted in
the creation of a clone coin called bitcoin cash. Selling on that
day dropped bitcoin to a low of $2,643. But it has rallied by
about 30% since its August 1 bottom.

As for how high bitcoin can go, Sheba Jafari, the head of
technical strategy at Goldman Sachs, said back in late July that
the cryptocurrency had the "scope
to reach 3,691." Jafari has been spot on with her bitcoin
call, earlier predicting
a big drop was coming.

Dennis Porto, a bitcoin investor and Harvard academic, told
Business Insider that over the long term he had noticed
bitcoin's price was following Moore's law, a first for a
technology's price, and said he thought bitcoin could reach
$100,000 by 2021 as long as that continued.

"This poses a unique opportunity for investors: Whereas it was
difficult to invest in circuits or internet speeds, it is easy to
buy a bitcoin," Porto told Business Insider.